J&K High Court summons three senior advocates for misconduct

According to a complaint, Mian Abdul Qayoom, Gulam Nabi and Nazir Ahmad Ronga, have committed professional and other misconduct under the Advocates Act, 1961

Three senior advocates of the Kashmir valley, who held official positions in the Kashmir High Court Bar Association (KHCBA) in the past, have been asked to present themselves before the Disciplinary Committee of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.

“You are hereby summoned to appear before this Committee on December 17, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. at the High Court J&K and Ladakh at Srinagar in the complaint before the Disciplinary Committee,” the summon, issued on Tuesday, reads.

The three advocates ¬ Mian Abdul Qayoom, Ghulam Nabi Thoker alias Shaheen and Nazir Ahmad Ronga ¬ have held official positions of the KHCBA in the past. The Association also became a constituent member of the Hurriyat when the Centre started dialogue process with the separatist amalgam in the 1994. In fact, Mr. Qayoom was the last elected president of the KHCBA. After August 5, 2019, the Association has not been allowed to hold elections. 

The summons followed a complaint filed by Achal Sethi, Secretary to the Government, Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs “for initiating disciplinary action against three advocates”. Mr. Sethi has suggested that the three advocates have “committed professional and other misconduct under the Advocates Act, 1961”.

“Having gone through the contents of the complaint and the material placed on record, we are of the view that prima facie, the allegations levelled by the Law Secretary against the above-named advocates constitute professional and other misconduct,” justice Sanjeev Kumar, justice Sanjay Dhar and justice Mohd Akram Chowdhary observed.